COSTA MESA, CA — Is James Kirkland the man to defeat Sergio Martinez? That’s what Golden Boy Promotions is banking on. Last night on Solo Boxeo Tecate, Kirkland notched another knockout in his second comeback bout against Jhon Berrio.
The 26-year-old Kirkland gained a lot of weight in prison, and you can see here he still hasn’t gotten back his pre-prison physique. The Mandingo Warrior controlled the first round with his constant pressure. The only lax moment came a minute in when Berrio wobbled him with a counter right over a lazy jab.
Berrio tried to maul Kirkland in round two but took a knee after eating several overhand lefts. He claimed afterward that the looping shots were to the back of the head. Kirkland improves to 27-0 with 24 KOs. Jhon Berrio falls to 15-9 with 11 KOs.
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During HBO’s broadcast of Martinez-Dzinziruk last week, Max Kellerman brought up James Kirkland as a potential opponent for the middleweight champ. In fact, Kirkland told Kellerman that he wanted Martinez now. Based on this performance, I’d say Kirkland is at least three fights away from being ready. If it had been Martinez in the ring instead of Berrio, Kirkland would have gotten the Paul Williams treatment courtesy of Martinez’s overhand left.
Martinez is 36 years old, and the longer Kirkland waits the better. If he can improve his defense, he may have a decent shot to take Martinez’s crown by mid 2012. I wish Ann Wolfe was still in his corner. He wasn’t a perfect fighter under her, but she made sure he was always 100% focused in the ring.
Time will tell if we’re dealing with the next middleweight kingpin, or Jeff Lacy 2.0.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 
-> The 26-year-old Kirkland gained a lot of weight in prison, and you can see here
Check his last fight at the weigh in, there was no extra weight – this fight was 8 pounds higher weight than normal.
Good to see/hear Kirkland’s back… Gonna check this in video later… I was A fan of his before He got locked up… Has He still got that female trainer???